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China’s tech push fuels fastest profit growth in 4 years amid signs of economic divide
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Zhang Shidongin ShanghaiPublished: 8:00am, 2 Sep 2026Artificial intelligence demand and technological domestic substitution drove profit growth for Chinese listed companies to its fastest pace in four years in the first half, underscoring the nation’s K-shaped economy as it transitions away from credit-fuelled expansion.
Profit for firms on the chip-heavy Star Market under the Shanghai Stock Exchange surged more than fourfold from a year earlier in the six months to June, while those on the similarly structured ChiNext board in Shenzhen rose 33 per cent, according to a report by the China Association for Public Companies.
That outpaced the 19.5 per cent increase for all 5,557 mainland China-listed companies, marking the fastest growth since 2022. The interim earnings season wrapped up on Tuesday.
The disparity reflects Beijing’s push for technological self-reliance after policymakers set the goal of prioritising the tech industry in the AI race against the US.
Technology and high-end manufacturing are becoming the new engines of economic growth in China
China’s big tech platforms are accelerating AI adoption by using home-made chips to support computing power, while memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and other AI hardware companies have boosted capacity after tapping capital markets.
“Technology and high-end manufacturing are becoming the new engines of economic growth in China,” said Zhang Qiyao, analyst at Industrial Securities.
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